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Height Affects the State of Mind and Perception of a Person, Say Scientists

Several studies have suggested that there is a relationship between a person’s height and… the role he or she plays in a romantic relationship. But how can the person’s height affect an emotional state of his or her mind? A recent survey by the University of Oxford studied how short people perceive the world around them. With the help of avatars, the researchers put the participants to a virtual experience, during which they were in metro along with other people… being a few inches shorter than their actual height.

The volunteers were able to move and interact with other virtual passengers, for example by exchanging glances. Each virtual journey lasted about six minutes, while the participants were ‘shorten’ by 25 centimeters. According to clinical psychologist and study leader Dr Daniel Freeman, the participants reported that in this way they felt most vulnerable, developed negative feelings about themselves and had a greater sense of… insanity. “There was no reason for anyone to feel a lack of confidence. Yet, when the participants saw the world around them … from a lower height, they believed that people were more hostile towards them or they were trying to isolate them,” said the professor, according to a report in National Geographic.

This does not mean that most short people always feel lack of confidence or are more paranoid, added Dr Freeman. However, our findings reinforce … read more